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AMHERST, Mass. – Striving to replicate the success of the 2002 drive that saved a child''s life, the Student Nurses'' Association will hold their annual Bone Marrow Typing Drive at the University of Massachusetts Amherst on Wednesday, May 4.

Three years after participating in the 2002 drive, student Poppy Hiser has learned that the child she donated marrow to has survived and is doing well. After registering, Hiser was contacted as the match for the ill child.

This year''s drive will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Room 101 of the Campus Center. Participants will complete a brief health questionnaire, sign a form consenting to have their tissue type listed in the National Marrow Donor Program''s Registry, and give a small blood sample to determine tissue type. Once listed in the registry, participants'' tissue will be compared to tissue types of thousands of patients around the world who need bone marrow transplants. The program then identifies and contacts potential matches.

Donations toward the program will be accepted at the drive to help cover the costs of tissue typing.